D&D 5E Extreme Wizard Specialization

[Samloyal23]

In a number of novels like the Elric series and The Book of Five Magics spellcasters have access to only a single category of spells. Has anyone tried a similar approach in D&D? I am think it could be balanced by adding more interesting special abilities to each specialist class, maybe giving them better access to metamagic within their selected school. Thoughts?

 

[DND_Reborn]

After re-balancing the spell lists I proposed allowing each caster class access to only one school. I'll see if I can find it.

Found it:

Here is another radical approach. It requires a great "rethinking" of the classes and their roles, etc.

Divide up each school to each caster/half-caster as follows...

Example:
Bards: Enchantment (Charm) - 40 spells
Cleric: Conjuration (Create) - 78 spells
Druid: Transmutation (Change) - 93 spells
Paladin: Abjuration (Protect) - 52 spells
Ranger: Divination (Find) - 32 spells
Sorcerer: Illusion (Deceive) - 31 spells
Warlock: Necromancy (Delve) - 36 spells
Wizard: Evocation (Manifest) - 100 spells

So, the "old" main casters have long spell lists (78, 93, and 100) and the others much shorter, but they all have other features (inspiration, warriors, metamagic, invocations) to make up for it.

Does it make some drastic changes? You BET! Cure Wounds, for instance, would become a WIZARD spell!

But, it automatically removes sameyness, makes each caster type very unique, etc.

 

[Krachek]

IMO considering all damage resistance, damage immunity, condition immunity, spell resistance, legendary resistance, I think it’s not a good idea to concentrate in one school of spell.

 

[TwoSix]

IMO considering all damage resistance, damage immunity, condition immunity, spell resistance, legendary resistance, I think it’s not a good idea to concentrate in one school of spell.

But that's part of the point. You're going to run into situations where your magic can't help you and you need to think of alternate solutions. I think the intent of this kind of game is that being occasionally neutralized is a feature, not a bug.

 

[TwoSix]

After re-balancing the spell lists I proposed allowing each caster class access to only one school. I'll see if I can find it.

Found it:

You know, I've been kicking this idea around in my head since you've proposed it. I think you'd definitely want to shape the campaign around the concept (I don't know how well it would work in say, Forgotten Realms), but I think it does provide a ton of interesting fusions of D&D spell concepts and D&D class concepts.

My first thought is that wizard would need a lot of work, since so many of the base subclasses would become meaningless. Fusing the evocation subclass features into the class structure would make sense, and then adding on new subclasses to support new concepts (like healer wizard!) Maybe some different kind of "gish-like" subclasses, since an evocation based class would be much more a war wizard type.

 

[Shiroiken]

Are we talking all spellcasters, or just wizards? For wizards, the easiest method would be to combine certain schools together, allowing only a handful of spells outside that (i.e. universal spells). Suggested combinations would be abjuration/evocation (war mage), enchantment/illusion (beguiler), necromancy/evocation (death mage), and conjuration/transmutation (distortion mage). I personally would allow Divination spells as universal but YMMV.

If you want to do this outside of just the wizard, you're going to have some serious work to do. I'd have cleric and druid lists be limited based on Domain/Circle. Warlocks and Sorcerers are already specialized in different ways. The bard... I'd have no clue what to do with the bard.

 

[DND_Reborn]

You know, I've been kicking this idea around in my head since you've proposed it. I think you'd definitely want to shape the campaign around the concept (I don't know how well it would work in say, Forgotten Realms), but I think it does provide a ton of interesting fusions of D&D spell concepts and D&D class concepts.

My first thought is that wizard would need a lot of work, since so many of the base subclasses would become meaningless. Fusing the evocation subclass features into the class structure would make sense, and then adding on new subclasses to support new concepts (like healer wizard!) Maybe some different kind of "gish-like" subclasses, since an evocation based class would be much more a war wizard type.

Yeah, classes would need some major adjustments. I wouldn't mind subclasses being able to carry over from other schools (such as divine soul sorcerer getting Cure Wounds if they are good), but otherwise I wouldn't allow it.

Subclasses of wizard could work the same way as a lot of other subclasses, getting access to other spells. The abjurer subclass could have access to 2 abjuration spells per spell level, but otherwise only get access to evocation (the main "wizard" list).

 

[Krachek]

But that's part of the point. You're going to run into situations where your magic can't help you and you need to think of alternate solutions. I think the intent of this kind of game is that being occasionally neutralized is a feature, not a bug.

So we should add more monsters with immune piercing, slashing and/or bludgeoning.
I mean really immune, not only needing a magic weapon, that way martial class would have to find alternate way of being useful.

 

[TwoSix]

Yeah, classes would need some major adjustments. I wouldn't mind subclasses being able to carry over from other schools (such as divine soul sorcerer getting Cure Wounds if they are good), but otherwise I wouldn't allow it.

Subclasses of wizard could work the same way as a lot of other subclasses, getting access to other spells. The abjurer subclass could have access to 2 abjuration spells per spell level, but otherwise only get access to evocation (the main "wizard" list).

That could work, although I worry it might dilute the concept a bit.

I think what I find really interesting is fusing together the class concept and the school concept and building some new ideas out of that; doing so might require some very different subclasses. Like if the inborn magic of the sorcerer is strictly illusionary, what does that mean? Does it mean the sorcerer is almost psionic-like, being able to impose images from their mind onto the greater reality? Should they get more rogue-like stealthy abilities, being more like a 3.5 beguiler?

 

[TwoSix]

So we should add more monsters with immune piercing, slashing and/or bludgeoning.
I mean really immune, not only needing a magic weapon, that way martial class would have to find alternate way of being useful.

Absolutely, I do that all the time. Gotta stay one step ahead of the PCs.